How to manually update the time on your server

Introduction

Many cPanel functions rely on the server having the proper time and date. If your server's time or date is not correct, you may need to manually update it.

Procedure

1. Connect to your server via SSH as the root user.
2. Check the server's current time:

   date
   Mon Apr 26 20:58:50 -03 2021

3. Run the rdate command to update from a specified rdate server--for example:

   rdate -s rdate.cpanel.net

4. If the rdate command does not work, you should be able to use the data command like so, replacing the date and time below with the actual time.

   date --set="Oct 14 07:19:54 EDT 2021"

5. Alternatively, you can use the timedatectl command.

   timedatectl set-time HH:MM:SS

6. Check the date again to make sure it is correct:

   date
   Mon Apr 26 20:46:59 -03 2021

7. On Metal servers, you can then ensure that the system clock is set correctly by syncing the system time you just set to it.

   hwclock --systohc